moore



C.. T. -MOGRE N ipple-Guard.

No. 93,7% 'Patented Aug. 17, 1869 N- BEBES. PMaTo-u'moenwnan, wnsnmaron. C4

CYRUS T. MOORE, OF GILMA'NTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Letters Patent .N 93,733, dated August 17, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY-GUARD FOR GUN-NIPPLES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all persons to whom these pree'nts maycome:

Be it known that I, CYRUs T. Moons, of Gilmanton, in the county of Belknap, and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Percussion-Locks for Fire-Arms; and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification, and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is an inner-side`elevation of the lock of a nre-arm, with Ymy invention applied to such lock, such representing the hammer as down upon the guard,

Figure 2 is av front elevation, as the parts appea when the hammer is raised to full cock. Y l

In' carrying out my invention, I apply to the lock, or the nipple thereof, a movable shield or guard, and so connect the same with the hammer by mechanism, which, during the elevation of the hammer from half cock to fu'll cock, shall cause by such movement the guard to be moved away from the nipple, so as to allow the hammer to descend thereon, or upon a percussion-cap when on such nipple, the guard, when V`the hammer is at half-cock, or being'thrown down therefron'nso covering and protecting the nippleas t0 prevent the hammer from striking thereon so as to explode the cap.

The mechanism I have combined with the lock thus becomes a safety-apparatus, to prevent discharge of the priming or cap by accidental fall of the hammer i'roin its position of half cock.

In the drawings- A denotes the lock-plate;

B,tbe hammer; Y

C, the percussion-nipple;

D, the main-spring;

E, the tumbler;

S, the sere; and

F, the sere-spring.

G is the cap by which the tumbler is kept in place.

The pivot of the tumbler is shown at a, the whole constituting a fire-arm lock, as ordinarily constructed.

The shield or guard H is a-lever, whose upper arm is recessed, to enable it to span the nipple when against the same, in which case such arm projects a short'distance aboveJ the top of the nipple, such distance being suiiicient to prevent the hammer, when resting on the said upper end of the guard, from coming into contact with the top of a cap, when ou the nipple.

The guard, arranged with respect to the nipple, in manner as represented, is pivoted to the lock-plate, or has its fulcrum at b, the shorter arm of the guard being extended below such fulcrurn, and jointed to a connecting-rod, c, near the front end of the latter.

The said connecting-rod, (a separate side view of which is shown in g. 3,) has a slot, d, formed init,`

near its rear extremity, such slot being to receive a round stud, e, projecting from the upper part of the tumbler.

Furthermore, a spring, f, xed at one end to the lock-plate, bears against the lower arm of the guard, and serves-to move the guard s'o as to cause its upper arm to be thrown up to the nipple, or toward the same, as circumstances may require.

The slot d is to be so arranged in the connectingrod that the stud may be against the rear end of the slot, when the hammer is standing at half cock, and the guard is over or against the nipple.

From theabove it will be seen, that should the hammer be accidentally discharged from half cock, it will strike down upon the top of the guard,-with out causing an explosion of a cap, should one be ou the nipple. i

It will also be seen, that while the hammer is being drawn up from half cock to whole cock, it, through the stud andconnecting-rod, will elevate the guard,

or move it o the nipple, so as to canse. such guard to be out of the path of the. hammer while it may be descending from full cock to and upon the cap on the nipple, which it will do before the' guard can be advanced toward the nipple, the main-spring being so much stronger, and, consequently, quicker i'n its movement than the little spring by which the guard is actuated.

The latter spring, however, will force the guard back upon the front of the hammer, against which it will -rest until the hammer may be next raised to half cock.

As soon as the hammer, during its elevation to halfcock may have passed the guard, the latter' will be forced by its spring up to its position of safety against the nipple.

Preparatory to placing a cap on the nipple, we

have only to take hold of the guard, and move it alittle away from the nipple.

After having adjusted the cap on thenipple, the guard may bev suffered to be moved back to place by its spring.

I have been informed that it is a safety-guard to the nipple of the lock of a rearm, and therefore, if so, I make no claim thereto; but I am not aware that any suchv guard, before my invention, has been'counected by the hammer' so as to be movable thereby, and by a spring, in manner and under circumstances substantially ashereinbefore set forth.

Therefore, what I claim as my invention, is as follows:

I claim, in combination with the safetv-guard H not new to apply i and the hammer land tumbler of a. fire-arm 190k, Jche stud e, the slotted connecting-rod c, .and the spring j', 0r theirmechancal equivalents, the Whole being'sub- ,stantially as described.

I also claim the arrangement and combination of pvoted'to the leckplate so as to operate with the nipple and hammer, in manner subStant-iaHyas explaued. l OYRUS T; MOORE.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, J.'R. SNOW.` 

